Mixed Up
by Gage39
Summary: After getting sucked into a portal Optimus, Prowl, Ratchet, and Bulkhead step out only to find that they have been gone for 12 million years.  Bumblebee is now in charge of the Neutrals who are attempting to overthrow the Autobots led by Sentinel Magnus.
1. Prologue: Disappearances

Mixed-Up

Prologue: Disappearances

A/N: This is a sequel to 'Different Beginnings'.

It was official; they were doomed. Primus himself was looking down from the Well of All Sparks and laughing at them, of that Optimus Prime was certain. Either that or Bumblebee was a demon from the Pit in disguise sent to test them and see if they were worthy of going to the Well of All Sparks after being off-lined. They were going to be richly rewarded or else Optimus was going to strangle a certain yellow minibot himself. While it was true that things had improved ever since they had arrived on Earth and rescued Bulkhead from the Decepticons there was still a certain amount of tension in the air. Especially since Bumblebee was very fond of playing pranks on everyone but Prowl was his favorite target, which resulted in a lot of blood-curdling screams and chases through the base.

"Out of my way!" Bumblebee called. "Speed demon coming through!"

Optimus pressed himself next to the wall just in time to avoid getting run over.

"Sorry," Bumblebee yelled before disappearing.

Optimus sighed and shook his head then continued to walk down the hallway only to jump out of the way in the nick of time as Prowl raced past him, fury written all over the black-and-gold motorcycle's frame. Optimus waited for several minutes and when he heard and saw nothing else he warily continued his journey, keeping an optic out for anymore furious bots. Seeing none he was nonetheless relieved when he finally arrived at the living room and gratefully sank down onto the couch.

A few minutes later Ratchet entered the room and sat down next to Optimus, laying several tools down on the coffee table in front of him. He placed his left servo on the table as well then picked up one of the tools and began working on the limb.

"Need any help?" Optimus offered.

"Nope," Ratchet grunted. "One of my digits got stuck again. Take just a minute and it'll be good as new…at least until next week that is."

A smile crept across Optimus's faceplate but he quickly wiped it off, aware that Ratchet would not appreciate it. Bumblebee had said more than once that Ratchet didn't have a sense of humor and Optimus was inclined to agree with him.

The sound of heavy footsteps signaled the arrival of Bulkhead. Shortly afterwards the big, green mech himself walked in, blue paint covering his servos and splattered all over his chassis.

"I'm not even going to ask," Optimus said after taking one look at the messy bot.

"What?"Bulkhead looked confused then he glanced down and smiled. "Oh I had a slight accident with the paint when Bumblebee and Prowl came though."

Optimus nodded, needing no further explanation. Bumblebee-related incidents were as common as mild oil leaks and needed no explanations nor were they wanted.

Prowl drove in about two minutes later then transformed and remained standing where he was as Bumblebee entered the room as well, transforming after screeching to a halt.

"You put shaving cream on me while I was recharging," Prowl said through gritted denta.

"What makes you so sure that it was me? For all you know it could have been Bulkhead,"  
>"It wasn't me," Bulkhead protested.<p>

"Optimus," Bumblebee continued.

"Excuse me?" Optimus raised an optic ridge.

"Or even Ratchet."

"What did you say?" a growl escaped the medibot's vocalizer.

"So why are you so insistent that it was me?" Bumblebee finished, looking very innocent as he blinked his baby blue optics at Prowl who managed to ignore the look.

"Because it's always you. You're the one who plays all the pranks all the time so why shouldn't this time be any different?"

"Why does everyone always assume that I'm responsible?" Bumblebee whined.

The other four mechs turned and stared at him incredulously. "Because you're the juvenile one out of all of us," Prowl said.

Bulkhead winced internally as Bumblebee's faceplate darkened but to his surprise the minibot simply turned and walked out of the room, head held high.

"Prowl," Optimus chided. "What have I told you about being nice to Bumblebee?"

"But he keeps acting like a young bot," Prowl protested.

"That's because he is a young bot," the red-and-blue mech hissed. "I for one am happy to see him acting his age."

Prowl opened his mouth to argue but before he could say anything a bright light filled the room. Shielding their optics the four Autobots looked on in shock and amazement at what appeared to be a space bridge field in the middle of their living room.

"Slag," Optimus moaned.

The portal stayed where it was for a minute then slowly moved through the room, sucking Prowl into its swirly middle. "Prowl!" Optimus shouted even as Bulkhead went flying. Seconds later Optimus and Ratchet soon followed, the last thing Optimus remembered seeing was Bumblebee's faceplate as the yellow minibot raced into the room.

A/N/N: 5 reviews per chapter.

A/N/N/N: Sorry this is so late.


	2. Hallucinations

Mixed-Up

Chapter 1: Hallucinations

The next thing Optimus saw was the living room floor as he stumbled and fell to his pedes.

"Ugh," Bulkhead groaned. "I think I'm gonna blow a gasket."

"I must concur with that statement," Prowl said as he rose to his heeled pedes, looking as steady as normal.

"Never again," Ratchet growled as Prowl helped him stand.

After Optimus followed their examples he looked around and suddenly realized several things. "Uh, guys?" he said. "What happened?"

"I don't have any idea," Prowl answered then his optics widened when he saw what his leader had indicated.

"Primus," Ratchet whispered.

"Just how long were he gone?" Bulkhead asked as he too looked around.

When they had left there had been a couch, coffee table and TV in the living room but now…While these articles of furniture were still there they were all in need of repair. The TV had a big hold in the middle of the screen, the coffee table was missing a leg which made it wobble precariously while the couch was missing not only the cushions but the majority of its stuffing was gone as well as one of the arms. Dried energon and a few body parts such as arms and legs covered the floor, spider webs hung down from the ceiling but most surprising was the wall directly in front of them with the words 'Death to the Autobots, Long Live the Neutrals!' written in energon.

"I think," Prowl said slowly, "we were gone for longer than a few seconds." Optimus could only nod in agreement, words failing him.

Just then they heard footsteps and shortly afterwards Black Arachnia walked in. She ignored them and, transforming into her spider mode, began to climb up one of the walls where she began to make another spider web.

After exchanging glances with the other members of his team and deciding that it couldn't hurt, Optimus stepped forward and hesitantly said, "Black Arachnia?"

"What?" she asked then glanced downwards, her optics widening. She stared at them then shrieked, "Bumblebee!"

Optimus frowned, confusion evident on his faceplate. Why would Black Arachnia call out for Bumblebee of all bots? It didn't make any sense.

Seconds later Bumblebee zoomed into the room then transformed; stingers and an energon sword at the ready. "What's wrong?" he demanded.

"Them," Black Arachnia replied, pointing one of her legs at Optimus and his crew.

Bumblebee looked at them then lowered his weapons and sighed. "Black Arachnia," he said slowly, "they are not real but are merely hallucinations."

"Since when can I see your hallucinations?" she grumbled.

"I don't know," Bumblebee said. "Don't forget that you have first watch tonight," he reminded her.

"I won't forget."

It was then that Optimus realized that Bumblebee was different. Not only did his voice sound harsh and cold but his body was different as well. His left arm was purple, his right one was gray; black paint covered his chassis, effectively hidng his Autobot symbol while his legs were blue and orange. His helm was the only thing that had retained its original yellow color although his optics were now violet, like Black Arachnia's were.

"But we're not hallucinations!" Bulkhead protested. "Are we?"

"I don't have time for this," Bumblebee announced. "I have far more important things to do instead of talking to bots that aren't even really here." With that he turned and walked out of the room.

"What now?" Prowl asked drily.

"I don't know," Optimus admitted.

Not entirely sure what to do the Autobots were fixing to go explore the base when Black Arachnia spoke. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not?" Ratchet grunted.

"Even if you are hallucinations the others won't think twice about shooting you and if you bots do turn out to be real Bumblebee will have to kill whoever shot you and we can't afford to lose anymore fighters," she explained.

"Thanks but I think we'll be fine," Optimus said then headed towards the hallway that led to the rest of the building when Blitzwing walked in followed by Starscream and Skywarp. The Decepticons were halfway across the room when the triple-changer abruptly stopped causing the two fliers behind him to crash into each other.

"What the slag was that for?" Starscream demanded.

"Ve have intruders," Blitzwing announced calmly, pointing at the four Autobots.

Skywarp shrieked and hid behind his Creator who angled his body so that the clone was completely hidden from view. "Stay away from him," Starscream hissed threateningly, his optics (violet as well) showing flecks of red as he pointed his weapons at them.

"Well this is a surprise," Prowl commented, raising an optic ridge.

"Hold it, boys," Black Arachnia ordered as she lowered herself to the floor before transforming back to her robot mode.

"They are Autobots; they deserve to die," Blitzwing insisted.

"They're not real," the femme informed him. "They're hallucinations."

"Since vhen do ve see Bumblebee's hallucinations? Ve have enough problems to deal vith right now; ve don't need to be seeing things that aren't there as vell," Blitzwing complained, lowering his weapons.

"Don't complain about it to me," Black Arachnia sighed. "If you have a problem take it up with Bumblebee."

"Ve just might do that," Blitzwing said then stalked over to the couch and sat down, crossing his arms with a huff and scowling at the broken TV.

"Does that mean they can't hurt us?" Skywarp asked hesitantly, his violet optics eyeing the Autobots nervously.

"That's precisely what it means," Bumblebee answered as he re-entered the room.

"Oh, ok," the cowardly clone relaxed and cautiously edged out from behind his Creator.

"Excuse me but can someone tell me what's going on here?" Optimus asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Bumblebee sounded surprised and slightly shocked.

"No," Prowl said, shaking his head.

"But you usually do," Bumblebee protested. "Unless," he slowly came towards them, "you're real." He stopped directly in front of Optimus and reached out a servo, hesitantly touching the taller bot's chassis. When he realized that his servo had encountered metal Bumblebee's faceplate lit up. "You're real," he whispered in disbelief. "You're real," he repeated. "You're…"

"We get the point," Black Arachnia interrupted, looking rather annoyed.

"They're gonna torture us!" Skywarp cried, hiding behind Starscream once more.

"Can ve shoot them now?" Blitzwing asked eagerly, his violet optics shining.

"No!" Bumblebee snapped, turning to face the Decepticons, his optics beginning to turn red. "They are not to be harmed. If any of you try to do so I will personally hand you over to Sentinel Magnus. Is that understood?"

The Decepticons, who had all paled at the name, nodded.

"Sentinel Magnus?" Optimus questioned.

"He's in charge of the Autobots now," Bumblebee explained. "He took over after Ultra Magnus was murdered a while back. Of course everyone thinks he did it and we're one hundred percent positive that he did especially since he blamed us."

Optimus would have asked more questions but just then one of the computer consoles began beeping.

"Autobots!" Skywarp shrieked again.

Bumblebee turned to the four Autobots standing behind him and said, "I would stay out of the way if I were you." He powered up his weapons, the Decepticons doing the same and then they waited.

A/N: 5 reviews.

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	3. The First Battle

Mixed-Up

Chapter 2: The First Battle

They didn't have to wait long; mere seconds after the initial cry of "Autobots" the Autobots themselves entered, led by Sentinel Magnus. No matter what he was called now Optimus still recognized the stuck-up aft the second he walked in. Sentinel's armor was still blue-and-orange, the only differences being that he was now slightly bigger than Optimus remembered and he was carrying Ultra Magnus's hammer with considerable ease.

"Well if it isn't the Neutrals," Sentinel sneered, coming to a stop in front of Bumblebee, his soldiers stopping in front of the Decepticons.

"Well if it isn't the backstabbing murderous coward," Bumblebee taunted; his stance deceptively casual.

Optimus had to resist the urge to laugh out loud. Apparently Bumblebee hadn't changed that much in all the time that they were gone. Judging by the look of absolute fury on Sentinel's faceplate he hadn't changed that much either.

Sentinel let out a roar and, pulling out his sword, charged at Bumblebee and at that the battle began.

Despite the fact that she was a half-spider Black Arachnia fought exceptionally well, using either her robot or organic mode; whichever worked best for her. She captured Autobots in her webs, knocked them out with her venom, and even pulled out an energon blade that Optimus knew she hadn't had before.

Blitzwing had always been a good fighter, his only drawback being that he had three personalities that had the tendency to take over at the most inopportune times. Today, however, he was using that to his advantage; allowing Icy to freeze the floor then Random would skate across it and Hothead would use his fire to melt the ice, making the floor extremely slippery for all but the tank and his companions.

Skywarp and Starscream worked together, neither one far from the other's side as Skywarp warped his Creator from Autobot to Autobot just in time to deliver deadly blows and avoid getting hit.

But Bumblebee was the biggest surprise of all. While he had always been a fair fighter now he was unbeatable. He was now using his wheels to skate around the room instead of his pedes that he had used earlier. Not one but two energon blades had come out of his right arm while a cannon fired from his left, occasionally alternating between it and his stingers which had obviously been modified for the streams of electricity were much more powerful than they had been before the portal came through.

Watching the five, technically seven, bots fight the Autobots was, Optimus had to admit, painful and not just for the obvious reasons. It had taken Optimus several weeks before Bumblebee would even consent to think about following one of his orders let alone doing it yet here he was, fighting alongside their sworn enemies as flawlessly as if they had been fighting together all their lives instead of…well however long they had been. But seeing the cold, indifferent look on his faceplate as he ruthlessly cut down Autobots made Optimus wonder: just what else had changed and how long had they been gone anyway?

Of course Sentinel was different as well; other than the physical changes that Optimus had noted earlier there were some subtle changes too. His faceplate still had the trademark look of 'I'm better than you and I know it' but it too looked harsher than Optimus remembered. Battle scars covered his armor although they had obviously been painted over unlike the other bots. His sword and shield looked like they had been upgraded and how he managed to carry both of his weapons and Ultra Magnus's hammer and still get in some pretty good hits Optimus didn't know.

Earlier it had been unclear who would win the battle as both sides seemed to be holding their own but the Decepticons and Bumblebee now appeared to be tiring, their reflexes growing more sluggish by the minute as they narrowly avoided fatal blows. The end came when Sentinel raised the hammer then let it hit the concrete floor, sending all of the bots, except for him of course, flying across the room.

Optimus, Prowl, Bulkhead, and Ratchet all winced as Blitzwing crashed into the wall, leaving a massive dent then slid down it, landing on top of Starscream and Skywarp while Black Arachnia managed to grab hold of one of her webs, pulling herself up onto the ceiling where she hissed at the soldiers below her. Bumblebee had been thrown back as well; however, he threw his entire body backwards and landed on his wheels, one of the blades supporting him briefly before being pointed at his enemies once more. He might have remained standing but it came with a price; his right knee joint was turn almost in half while energon streamed from a cut across his chassis, dangerously close to his spark chamber.

"Do you surrender?" Sentinel asked haughtily yet still managing to sound bored.

"Yes," Bumblebee sighed, reluctantly sheathing his weapons and stretching his arms out, the Decepticons following suit, grumbling all the while.

"Take them back to Headquarters," Sentinel said and turned to go but froze when he caught sight of the four Autobots staring at him from across the room. "It can't be," he breathed. "It can't be _them."_

"I told you," Bumblebee said gleefully as one of the soldiers placed stasis cuffs on him. "I said they would be back but you didn't believe me, but here they are and they're gonna kick your aft."

"Shut him up," Sentinel ordered.

The bot cuffing Bumblebee hit him hard on his helm causing the minibot to slump to the floor, unconscious.

Bulkhead surged forward to protect his little buddy but was stopped by more soldiers who valiantly attempted to hold back the humongous bot but required additional assistance from the rest of their comrades who also thought it best to hold back the other three Autobots.

"Cuff them as well," Sentinel said then turned and walked out of the base.

A/N: 5 reviews.

A/N/N: Sorry it's so short but I figured that you would be fine.


	4. Sentinel Magnus

Mixed-Up

Chapter 3: Sentinel Magnus

It didn't take long to get to the Autobot Headquarters as it was housed in a building that Optimus recognized as Sumdac Towers, a robotics company that they had driven past on several occasions while out on patrol. Once there Optimus, Prowl, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and the Decepticons were shoved rather forcefully into the building and then directed to the elevator. They went up several floors then Bumblebee and his group were led off, Optimus tried to follow them but was stopped by one of the remaining guards who shook his head. "Sentinel Magnus wants to have a word with you," he said, grinning.

Optimus felt slightly uneasy and worried but ignored it, instead paying attention to what was going on around him. Silently he counted five floors that they had went up and adding that to the fifteen floors they had traveled with their fellow prisoners that meant they were now on the twentieth floor. His musings were interrupted by the guards who pushed them off the elevator and then directed them down a hallway, at the end of which was a door. One of the guards opened the door and announced, "The prisoners, sir, as you requested."

"That will be all," Sentinel said from inside the room, his voice clearly audible even though he couldn't be seen.

"Yes, sir," the guard replied with a bow, indicating for Optimus and his three companions to enter the room before closing the door behind them.

Once inside Optimus looked around with interest, mentally taking notes of his surroundings and filing them away for future reference. The walls were blue with orange trim, painted no doubt to match Sentinel's paint job, and on one wall was a full-length painting of him.

"Glad he's so modest," Ratchet muttered causing Optimus's entire frame to shake with silent laughter as he tried to control himself while Prowl merely smiled, his blue optics lighting up with amusement. Bulkhead made no attempt to hide his laughter but let it out, hurting their sensitive audio sensors while he was at it.

"Very funny," Sentinel said from across the room, his voice instantly sobering them. He rose from the desk he had been sitting at and walked over to them where he preceded to walk in a circle around them. "Hmm," he said. "You look like them and you even seem to have their sense of humor but you can't be them."

"Why not?" Prowl asked.

"Because you, or rather who you're pretending to be, disappeared twelve million years ago and haven't been seen since then," was the smug answer.

Optimus's knee joints suddenly felt weak and threatened to give way as he gaped at Sentinel. "Twelve millions years?" he gasped; his voice no louder than a shocked whisper.

"Don't sound so surprised," Sentinel frowned. "Every bot knows that, even the Dinobots know and that's saying something."

"Twelve million years?" Optimus repeated, unable to say anything else as his processor tried to wrap itself around the number.

Sentinel opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door. "Come in!" he yelled, annoyance coloring his voice.

The door opened and Cliffjumper entered, closing it behind him. "I'm terribly sorry about the interruption, Sentinel, sir," he apologized, "but when I heard that they had shown up I went through the records of our interrogations of that traitor Bumblebee and I found something that I thought you might like to know."

"What?" Sentinel looked confused then suddenly comprehension dawned on his faceplate and he groaned. "Don't tell me that it's today."

"Yes, sir," Cliffjumper nodded. "Today is the day that Bumblebee said they would come back; right down to the minute from what we've been able to confirm."

"No," Sentinel said, groaning louder than he had before. 'Please say it isn't so," he begged.

"I really am sorry," Cliffjumper said as he backed up, eyeing his leader carefully as if judging how long he had until Sentinel blew up.

"Well," Sentinel said thoughtfully. "We can't let anyone else know about this. If the Council finds out about this they might give Optimus my position and I have no desire to lose everything that I've worked for. Not to mention if they discover that Bumblebee's words came true they might believe that he had nothing to do with Ultra Magnus's death."

Optimus had heard enough; summoning up his courage he stepped forwards and said," Bumblebee might be a lot of things but one thing that he isn't is a killer."

"Oh really?" Sentinel got directly in Optimus's faceplate. "Then tell me why he is in allegiance with the Decepticons who are convicted killers and why he was witnessed ripping out Ironhide's spark before he crushed it?"

"How can you be so certain that it was him?" Optimus asked.

"I just told you; a bot saw him do it."

"Who?"

"Jazz," Sentinel said triumphantly; then smiled when he saw the look of shock on Optimus's faceplate. "Not only that but he also tried to kill Jazz but wound up just wounding him. Poor Jazz took a direct hit in the processor and went crazy and had to be locked up in a mental asylum where he died ten thousand years ago."

Optimus was stunned, he didn't want to believe Sentinel but he couldn't reconcile his memories of the Bumblebee he knew with the Bumblebee he had seen earlier that afternoon, cutting down Autobots as if they were merely obstacles in his path and not living, breathing bots.

Sentinel laughed as he watched the conflicting emotions battle each other on Optimus's faceplate. "You see, Bumblebee is the killer, not I. The only thing I am guilty of is trying to rid the world of scum like him." He stepped back and walked over to his desk where he sat down and began to look over a large stack of datapads. "Take them to the prison and put them with their friend then…what did I say Bumblebee's sentence was?"

"He and the other Neutrals are being executed tomorrow," Cliffjumper replied.

"Very well. Give my old friend Optimus and his friends the same sentence but first give them some violet optics and cover up their Autobot symbols," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," Cliffjumper said.

"We didn't do anything!" Bulkhead hollered, trying in vain to break his cuffs.

"Tell that to someone who cares," Sentinel said as they were dragged out of the room, the door shutting behind them.

A/N: 5 reviews.

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A/N/N/N: If you have any questions either submit a signed review or send me a private message and I will answer it to the best of my abilities without giving anything away.


	5. Prison Words

Mixed-Up

Chapter 4: Prison Words

Optimus was quiet as he and the others were herded back onto the elevator. Thoughts swam through his processor, weighing it down and forcing him to consider things that he would have preferred not to. What if Bumblebee really had turned evil like Sentinel said? Of course he knew better than to believe Sentinel but the facts didn't lie. Bumblebee was in league with the Decepticons and while Sentinel seemed like the bad guy Optimus found it difficult to believe that a group of bots who had tried to rule the world on several different occasions would be interested in stopping Sentinel from doing the same thing. On the other servo there was that little matter of having been gone for twelve millions years.

Being shoved out of the elevator again brought him back to reality so he blinked and realized that they were being led down yet another hallway with a door at the end of it. On the other side of that was their third hallway of the day but this one didn't have a door but several cells, the energon bars glowing brightly. Starscream and Skywarp looked up from their shared cell then went back to patching each other up. Blitzwing didn't bother to look up neither did his neighbor, Black Arachnia. Bumblebee did look at them and was the only bot to acknowledge their presence. "I wondered when you guys would get here," he said then returned to trying to stem the cut on his chassis which was still flowing freely.

"In you go," the guard said, opening Bumblebee's cell and waited until the four Autobots entered then reactivated the bars. After checking the rest of the cells he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Once the guard was gone Ratchet turned to Bumblebee and said, "All right let's have a look at you."

"It's okay," Bumblebee said quickly. "I can fix it."

Ratchet leveled his dirtiest look at the now multi-colored minibot and turned his right servo into some medical tool while his left grabbed Bumblebee's shoulder strut in an effort to keep him still. Bumblebee opened his mouth to protest but another look from Ratchet quickly closed it again. Ratchet frowned as he gently prodded the cut. "I don't understand why you're losing so much energon. This cut's not that deep but at this rate you'll bleed to death in a day or two."

"That's no problem," Black Arachnia said. "We're getting executed in a day or two anyway."

"Tomorrow," Starscream corrected.

"If you knew that you were going to be executed why did you surrender?" Prowl asked.

"So we could get some rest," Bumblebee explained. "Beside I like to play with Sentinel's processor like that. If he thinks that he defeated us then he gets cocky and rather sloppy which means that we'll have a better opportunity to escape."

"Just how many times have you done this?" Optimus asked suspiciously.

"A few," Bumblebee said with a grin.

* * *

><p>"Sir," Cliffjumper said hesitantly.<p>

"What is it?" Sentinel asked.

"Are you sure that it's wise not to post extra guards to watch the brig?" seeing the look on his superior's faceplate Cliffjumper hastened to explain. "It's just that…well, sir, Bumblebee has escaped every time that we capture him, usually damaging the brig in the process."

"He won't escape this time," Sentinel said confidently.

"Forgive me for questioning you, sir, but how can you be so sure?" the red minibot persisted.

Sentinel was quiet as he rose from his desk and walked over to the window. He gazed out of it for a minute then said, "Because he's waited twelve million years for them to come back. The only reason he keeps fighting me is because he was waiting…for them. They're back now and he won't risk their lives. He won't do anything that brings harm to them."

"But because they're back doesn't that mean he's more likely to break out?" Cliffjumper argued. "He's been saying that when they come back they would take you down."

Sentinel allowed himself to smile ever so slightly. "He's an insane minibot and they are die-hard Autobots. I know Optimus; there's no way that he'll ever consent to have anything to do with the Decepticons let alone fight side-by-side with them."

Cliffjumper nodded and exited the room, leaving Sentinel staring out the window.

* * *

><p>"How did Sentinel know where to find you guys anyway?" Bulkhead asked; his voice full of curiosity.<p>

"The plant has alvays been our base," Blitzwing answered. "After he figured that out ve vere still using it, he alvays checks it first."

"Why do you still use it then?" Prowl inquired from his cross-legged position on the floor.

"Why not?" Bumblebee said. "It's one of the few places that's big enough to hold all of us with room to spare, besides it held to many memories," he whispered.

They all fell silent, the only sounds coming from Skywarp who was still patching up Starscream and Ratchet who was doing the same to Bumblebee. "I just don't understand," the medic said, scowling at the black chassis in front of him. "I know I already said it, but I still don't know why you're losing this much energon."

"One of his major energon lines got nicked not that long ago," Skywarp offered as he paused mid-repair. "I patched it up but more than likely it sprang another leak."

"Thanks," Bumblebee said sarcastically. "I really appreciate it."

"Oh you're welcome," Skywarp replied cheerfully then returned to what he had been doing.

"Energon lines?" Ratchet raised an optic ridge at Bumblebee who shifted uncomfortably. "Need to have a look at that too." Bumblebee just sighed and scowled at Skywarp who remained oblivious to its searing power. "Lie back," Ratchet ordered and smiled in satisfaction when Bumblebee obliged him by lying flat on his back on the berth.

While Ratchet drooled over Bumblebee's energon lines, Prowl meditated and Bulkhead caught a quick stasis nap Optimus decided to amuse himself by watching their fellow captives and see just what else had changed in the…twelve million years that they had been gone. Well for starters there were the violet optics they all sported along with the black paint on their chassis' that effectively covered up their former faction symbols. Their frames were liberally decorated with scars, both old and new. The majority of their limbs had been replaced, some of the replacements looked rather familiar to Optimus; in fact Starscream's left arm looked just like Megatron's…

The door opened and a guard entered. He wasn't one of the guards who had escorted them all over the building but held himself straighter, walked with a slightly haughty air, suggesting that he was a higher-up, possibly even the head guard himself. He stopped directly in front of Skywarp and Starscream's cell. "How are you doing today? I trust the cell is to your liking," he smirked. Starscream said nothing but his right optic began to twitch. "Still have a clone left I see. Well I wouldn't get too attached seeing as what happened to the other three." Both of Starscream's optics were now twitching and showing flecks of red. "Although I really liked that femme clone. What was her name again? Ah yes, Slipstream, I believe it was. It was extremely fun to hear her scream."

"Enough!" Starscream yelled, leaping to his pedes. "You will pay for what you did to them, Barricade. I swear you will pay."

"Good luck with that," Barricade laughed as he turned and walked out of the room.

Once Starscream had stopped growling underneath his breath Bumblebee announced, "We're going to escape tomorrow."

A/N: 5 reviews.

A/N/N: Don't forget to vote!


	6. Escape

Mixed-Up

Chapter 5: Escape

A/N: When I said Ratchet drooled I didn't mean literally! Normally he doesn't get to fix anything exciting other than the occasional missing limb or two. So what I thought you guys would understand was 'Ratchet was ecstatic to see a real case.' Sorry for any confusion.

Although Optimus had expected more clarification after Bumblebee's statement he received none for Bumblebee fell into recharge shortly afterwards, the Decepticons following suit. Even though his companions had also fallen into recharge Optimus stayed awake for a long while, staring up at the ceiling as tumultuous thoughts ran through his processor; keeping him wide awake and thinking long into the night. It was nearing two a.m. before Optimus finally fell into a fitful recharge, images of Sentinel Magnus and Bumblebee fighting with a portal, much like the one that had stolen them, in the background, swirling ominously.

When Optimus awoke it was early, the sun just now rising. Wondering what had awakened him, he un-shuttered his optics and glanced around the room. Seeing nothing except for some recharging bots and Starscream's arm crawling on the floor he re-shuttered his optics only for them to fly back open a second later. He sat straight up and stared in disbelief at Starscream's left arm which was now making its way to the keypad on the front of the flier's cell.

"What are you doing?" Optimus asked; his voice no louder than a whisper.

"Trying to escape," Starscream whispered back.

"I can see that. What I meant was; how is your arm doing that?"

Starscream looked confused momentarily then said, "Oh, that. I rewired it so that it no longer has to be attached to my frame for me to use it," he explained.

"That's actually pretty brilliant," Optimus whispered; admiration filling his voice.

"Thanks."

Silence fell between the two bots; neither one of them knowing what to say for they were sworn enemies who apparently had a common friend in Bumblebee. It is difficult to say how long this silence would have lasted; possibly forever if Skywarp hadn't woken up to see his Creator's unattached arm entering a code on a keypad and let out a loud shriek, waking the others up.

"Hush, Skywarp," Starscream hissed. "Do you want the guards to come in before I have a chance to get us out of here?"

"Sorry," Skywarp whimpered. "I forgot that you fixed your arm to do that."

"What's going on?" Bumblebee moaned as he came on-line and blinked at them sluggishly.

"Breaking out," Starscream replied then scowled at his arm as it entered yet another incorrect code.

"It looks more like trying to break out to me," Black Arachnia laughed as she began to make a web, the silvery strands reflecting the pink glow of the energon bars.

Before Starscream could come up with a retort Bumblebee said, "Okay it's time to escape. The first bot that gets out of their cell doesn't have to do any chores this week. The last bot who escapes has to clean the entire base from top to bottom. On your mark, get set, go!"  
>While the Decepticons immediately began re-doubling their efforts to escape Optimus and the other three Autobots stared at Bumblebee in disbelief. "You can't be serious," Optimus said when he had finally found his voice again. "We're in prison and we're going to be executed this morning and you're having them compete to see who's the fastest?"<p>

"They work much better if they're competing against each other," Bumblebee replied calmly as his right servo turned into several thin metal tools which he stuck into the back of the keypad on their cell.

As Bumblebee played with the keypad Optimus watched in amusement as Starscream kept entering incorrect codes much to his clone's dismay. Blitzwing was firing ice at his keypad while Black Arachnia was in the process of tying her spider web to her keypad and once that was done she began to tug at the web with all of the strength in her robotic body.

Suddenly the bars around their cell were deactivated and Optimus looked at Bumblebee with a newfound respect in his optics. "I win," Bumblebee sang as he moved to stand in the hallway, the four Autobots hurriedly following on the off chance that the bars were reactivated. A loud clang announced that Blitzwing had completely broken off his keypad after freezing it and then hitting it until it fell off, thus deactivating his cell as well. Black Arachnia had pulled at the keypad with her web until she had successfully pulled it into the energon bars which shorting it out, leaving her free to join the others. Starscream and Skywarp were the last to escape after trying over one hundred different codes before finally guessing the correct combination.

"I guess we're stuck cleaning again," Skywarp said, letting out a dismal sigh.

Starscream merely growled in reply.

"Come on," Bumblebee said, shooting the fliers an irritated glare. "We need to escape then you two can argue all you want while you're cleaning."

Some faint grumblings could be heard but for t he most part they kept quiet, obviously knowing better than to push their leader too far. While Optimus wasn't scared of Bumblebee he was slightly…cautious of this Bumblebee. This bot that didn't seem to have any trouble leading a group of Decepticons and breaking of the Autobot Headquarters; the bot that hadn't thought that they were real and probably still didn't.

"Get ready," Bumblebee ordered, pressing himself next to the wall.

"Ready for what?" Prowl asked suspiciously.

"You'll see," Bumblebee said with a mysterious smile.

Deciding that it might be better if they did what he said, Optimus and the others followed suit, pressing their frames tightly against the wall, trying to blend in. Prowl didn't bother but merely jumped to the top of the door frame and Black Arachnia joined him seconds later in spider mode.

A few minutes later the door opened and three guards entered, carrying several pairs of stasis cuffs. Bumblebee gave a slight nod and Black Arachnia dropped a web on one of the guards then jumped on top of him, sinking her fangs into his neck. Prowl quickly took care of the other two then placed them in stasis cuffs.

"I see you haven't lost your touch," was all Bumblebee said before calmly stepping over the downed guards and walking out of the room. They followed him and were relieved to see no guards standing outside the door. "The next door will have guards," Bumblebee warned them. "Once we get past them it should be a straight shot to the elevator."

"And after that?" Optimus inquired, raising an optic ridge.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Bumblebee decided.

"How'd I know he was going to say that?" Ratchet grumbled, his joints creaking in protest as he shifted positions.

"Stop that," Blitzwing chided. "You are vay too loud."

"Well excuse me," Ratchet snapped. "I'm old which gives me the right to make all the noise I want."

Before Blitzwing could reply Bumblebee sent both of them a dirty look and hissed, "Quiet you tow. It's bad enough having Starscream and his clone bicker without the two of you joining in. So either all of you shut up or else we're going to get caught."

An uneasy silence fell over the group and they eyed each other warily but kept following Bumblebee as they didn't want to make him more mad than he already was. It didn't take long for them to overpower the guards at the next door then they proceeded to the elevator where Bumblebee opened his spark chamber and pulled out a small device that Optimus recognized as being a bomb; a miniaturized version to be sure but a bomb nonetheless.

"What are you going to do with that?" Optimus demanded, then, "Since when did they get so small?"

"Use it," Bumblebee replied, shutting his chest plates "plus it's been twelve million years don't forget." Placing the bomb inside the elevator he pressed the button for the floor Sentinel's office was on and stepped out of the elevator before the doors shut. "Time to go," he announced, going over to one of the windows.

"Out the window?" Bulkhead gasped, his optics growing wider.

"Of course," Bumblebee said. "Seekers, start your engines!"  
>Immediately Starscream, Skywarp, and Blitzwing transformed, hovering just above the floor. Bumblebee climbed on Skywarp while Black Arachnia sat on Starscream. After a few seconds hesitation Optimus joined Black Arachnia, Prowl and Ratchet sat behind Bumblebee and Bulkhead climbed on top of Blitzwing.<p>

As soon as their passengers were onboard the three Seekers took off, flying through the windows much to Bumblebee's please as the minibot shrieked, "Wahoo!" while one thought ran through Optimus's processor over and over: _We're going to die._

A/N/N: 5 reviews.

A/N/N/N: If you have any questions about anything please let me know and I will do my absolute best to answer them.

A/N/N/N/N: If any of you feel an urge to do some fan art or stories (such as: what did Bumblebee do while they were gone) you are more than welcome to do so just let me know and send me the link.

Also: I did an illustration of Bumblebee, the link can be found on my profile page.

A/N/N/N/N/N: The next chapter WILL be specifically to address certain issues like what happened to Megatron. So let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer.

A/N/N/N/N/N/N: Don't forget to vote!


	7. Questions & Answers

Mixed-Up

Chapter 6: Questions & Answers

Much to Optimus's relief they didn't die but made it safely to the base. Once on the ground they immediately climbed off the Seekers' who transformed back into robot mode before going inside. They all found places to sit in the living room to sit while Bumblebee disappeared only to return seconds later carrying an armful of medical tools which he placed in front of Ratchet. The medic made no attempt to hide his disgust of the tools, however, he said nothing, choosing instead to pick one up and, grabbing Skywarp, began to repair him.

"Now," Bumblebee began as he sat on the floor, crossing his legs much like Prowl did while meditating. "I assume that you have some questions that you'd like to ask so ask away and I will do my best to answer."

"Okay," Optimus said. "Where's Megatron?"

Bumblebee's optics lit up and his shoulder struts began shaking as he tried to suppress his laughter. "Lugnut," Bumblebee gasped. "After Sentinel beat Megatron in one particularly viscous battle he ordered Megatron to surrender. When he actually did surrender Lugnut lost it. I think he had a mental breakdown of sorts and anyway he just went crazy, started shooting at everybody. Sentinel's soldiers finally stopped him but by then it was too later; Megatron was hurt so badly that he only lasted for a few hours before he off-lined."

Optimus could see the humor in that; after all Lugnut was the one Decepticon that was never likely to betray Megatron, yet he was the bot responsible for his leader's demise. Apparently Primus had a sense of humor after all. "Why is everyone on Earth?"

Immediately all of them stopped laughing, sadness and devastation replacing the amused looks on their faceplates. "Shockwave was on Cybertron and the one that Sentinel blamed for Ultra Magnus's death. Sentinel managed to capture Soundwave but Shockwave broke him out and they tried to leave the planet. Sentinel stopped them but instead of surrendering they combined their powers; Shockwave's punch that was five times more powerful than Lugnut's and Soundwave's ability to control bots with his sounds."

Optimus already knew about the Decepticon's abilities having learned all about them during school but sense that bumblebee was having a difficult time explaining and was trying to stall so he said nothing.

"Their powers combined would have been enough to destroy half of Cybertron but they, or more accurately Shockwave had stolen Ultra Magnus's hammer and they used it at the exact same time as they combined their powers and well…I guess you can imagine what happened next."

While he had been talking Optimus, Prowl, Ratchet, and Bulkhead had steadily been growing paler by the second until at last their faceplates were drained entirely of color. Identical looks of horror stared at Bumblebee. It took a while but Optimus finally found his voice and managed, with a voice filled with disbelief, to whisper, "Cybertron is gone?"

Bumblebee merely nodded; content to let the facial expressions of him and his Neutrals do the talking for now. They stayed quiet for almost an hour, each bot silently mourning the loss of their home.

"Where are the humans?" Bulkhead asked, in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood.

If anything Bumblebee looked even more sad. "After the rest of us, at least those of us who survived the destruction of Cybertron, arrived on Earth the humans were a little overwhelmed but they agreed to let us stay. One day, not that long before Megatron's death, we were fighting him when Sentinel decided to use an energon bomb."

Optimus could already tell that this conversation was not going to end well either. Energon was harmful and potentially fatal to Transformers if processed a certain way, let along humans who didn't have protective armor. Not to mention, according to Ratchet, energon bombs produced a gas that was fatal to humans, killing those who got only a whiff of it.

"Besides the energon bombs, more than one was used, quite a few humans were killed in the crossfire and they all died out eventually. I used to go looking for them but I gave up about six million years ago." Bumblebee stopped again and let them absorb the news before asking, "Anything else?"

"Why is Sentinel so…?" Optimus hesitated, unwilling to say anything bad about his nemesis despite the fact that he had tried to have them killed.

"Evil?" Bumblebee finished then smiled when Optimus reluctantly nodded. "You're still the same Optimus that I remember," he said, a fond look on his faceplate then it disappeared as he began to explain, "Sentinel was the bot who managed to retrieve the hammer before Cybertron was destroyed. In my opinion he and the majority of the Autobot army were brainwashed by Soundwave right before he was off-lined."

"Can't you de-program him?" Prowl's voice floated down from the ceiling where he was perched on one of the rafters.

Bumblebee shook his head but Black Arachnia answered instead. "No. Since Sentinel wanted power anyway and was always a bit of an aft it didn't take him long to succumb to the brainwashing. It's been so long now that his processor and those of his soldiers have re-written themselves. It's virtually impossible to re-program any of the Autobots now without killing any of them," she explained.

"Well that's interesting and everything but it doesn't explain why you," Ratchet waved his servo, indicating Bumblebee and the Decepticons, "became Neutrals and are trying to take down the Autobots."

The Neutrals exchanged glances then Blitzwing said, "Ve vere captured by Sentinel and tortured for several veeks. Starscream's clones were off-lined in front of his optics one-by-one, very slowly and painfully. Barricade raped Slipstream over and over until she was begging him to kill her but he refused. That vas vhen Bumblebee came in and stopped him. So Barricade killed Slipstream and vould have killed Skywarp too but Starscream leapt in front of him. It is only because of Bumblebee that ve are all still on-line. He broke us out of prison and ve decided that ve didn't vant Sentinel in charge anymo0re so ve became Neutrals."

Silence fell over them once more then, abruptly, Bumblebee rose and said, "I need some air." Turning, he ran out of the room, the sound of his tires screeching fading away.

A/N: 5 reviews.

A/N/N; I will try to answer some more questions in the next chapter.

A/N/N/N: Anonybot did a wonderful illustration for 'Mixed-Up'. The link can be found on my profile page.

A/N/N/N/N: Don't forget to vote! Or tell me in either a private message or review which story you want done first. If you have already voted but changed your mind let me know and I will count that as a vote also.


	8. I Knew You Would Come Back

Mixed-Up

Chapter 7: "I Knew You Would Come Back."

"Bumblebee?" Optimus called hesitantly. "Bumblebee?" receiving no answer the red-and-blue bot peeked into the room closest to him; Ratchet's old room. Seeing no one he looked in Prowl's old room and saw only a dead tree then hesitated at the final one. It was Bumblebee's room; no one, except for Bulkhead of course, had ever entered without an invitation.

While Optimus debated the pros and cons of going in Bumblebee's voice called out, sounding rather amused. "Are you just going to stand there all day or come in?" Sheepishly Optimus opened the door and entered the room, closing the door behind him. Bumblebee stood in front of the window, servos clasped behind his back. "I always knew you would come back," the minibot said suddenly. "Everyone else thought I was nuts but I guess I showed them because here you are."

"How did you know we were going to come back?" Optimus asked; his voice soft.

"At first I thought you were going to come back in a few days and when you didn't…" Bumblebee's voice trailed off then briskly he said, "After a while I gave up on you then one day I happened to run into Black Arachnia…"

* * *

><p><em>Detroit at night was beautiful, Bumblebee had to admit. Normally he would have stopped to admire the scenery but not tonight. Tonight he had something much more important to do, such as look for his missing friends. They had been gone for over a year now and slowly, but surely, Bumblebee was beginning to lose hope that they would ever return but every night, while on patrol, he would look for them. He had made a promise to himself the day they had vanished that exactly one year to the day, if they hadn't come back by then he would stop. After tonight he would look no more but instead he would return to Cybertron and try one last time to join the Elite Guard.<em>

_Reaching the outskirts of Motor City he stopped and transformed. He stood there for a while, just looking at the line of trees that separated Motor City from the rest of the world like a moat that surrounded a castle. The sound of a tree limb cracking caught his attention as did the cursing that followed it. He brought his weapons online and headed towards the noises, a rush of hope and excitement running through his energon lines. He came to a stop when he realized that it was merely Black Arachnia, her helm stuck in some tree branches._

"_Stupid organic life," she grumbled, trying unsuccessfully to pull herself free._

"_Need some help?" Bumblebee offered._

"_Yes," she reluctantly growled._

_Bumblebee walked over to her then raised his energon blade, using it to cut the branch. Black Arachnia wriggled free then looked at him gratefully. "Thank you," she said. Bumblebee nodded and turned to go. Before he could get very far however she called out, "Where are the other Autobots? I thought there were five of you on Earth but you're the only one I've seen recently."_

"_The others disappeared over a year ago," he said, refusing to turn around and look at her._

"_I'm sorry," the sincerity in her tone could not be doubted. "Did they just vanish one day or…?"_

"_They were pulled into a portal of some kind," he informed her, seeing no harm in doing so._

"_A portal?" there was no mistaking the excitement that now filled her voice. "Maybe I could be of some help to you," she suggested, coming up to Bumblebee and wrapped one of her arms around his shoulder struts in a friendly gesture. "Now tell me everything you know about the portal," she ordered. "Did it have different colors in it or just one? How long was it there?"_

* * *

><p>Bumblebee stopped; a soft smile on his faceplate then he continued. "The two of us went through old datapads, analyzed samples of concrete and tested the air… It took us over five years but we finally figured it out. Apparently the portal opens once every twelve million years at the same place at the exact same time and stays open for approximately one minute and thirty seconds. The first time it opened it sucked in a three-month-old human baby and twelve million years later it spit her back out. So we figured that you would come back eventually."<p>

"If that's the case then why did you think we were hallucinations?" Optimus asked.

"Every year on the day that you disappeared, I have hallucinations of you. I got so used to it that when you really did come back it didn't occur to me that you might be real," he confessed.

"Even though you knew we would come back?"

"Yeah," Bumblebee grinned then sobered. "I'm happy to see you, really I am, but I'm not glad you're here. Does that make any sense?"

Optimus thought about it then nodded. "A little," he said. "Are there anymore Neutrals?"

"Waspinator joined up with us for a while but Sentinel killed him as well, along with the Dinobots, the Jet twins, and Jazz."

"Sentinel said that Jazz died in an insane asylum after witnessing you kill Ironhide."

"I did kill Ironhide," Bumblebee said, "but only after he shot Jazz in the processor. Jazz probably would have survived but Sentinel ordered him off-lined because he had been caught patching up the Decepticons by Ironhide."

After several minutes of oppressive silence Optimus said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that we disappeared and left you all alone."

Bumblebee turned to look at him and smiled softly. "You know, I think I remember why I waited so long for you to return." Then he walked out of the room, leaving Optimus staring out the window.

* * *

><p>Sentinel Magnus was furious; his entire frame literally shook as he tried not to explode. It was very difficult however as all he wanted to do, all he could think about was unleash his feral rage on a certain multi-colored minibot and watch as the color slowly drained from the violet optics. Then, once Bumblebee was off-line, he would take care of the others, starting with his self-righteous enemy, Optimus Prime. "Cliffjumper," he said.<p>

"Coming, sir," Cliffjumper called as he attempted to navigate his way through the rubble that covered the floor, compliments of Bumblebee's bomb. "Yes, sir?" the red minibot's vents were working overtime when he finally made his way across the room.

"Tell the soldiers to prepare for battle," he ordered.

"Sir?" Cliffjumper looked confused.

"We're going to fight the Neutrals," he said through gritted denta, "but this time we're going to destroy them all."

"Yes, sir," Cliffjumper nodded and left the room.

A/N: 5 reviews please.

A/N/N: Any more questions just ask and I will try to answer them.

A/N/N/N: Only a few chapters left!

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	9. Battle Preparations

Mixed-Up

Chapter 8: Battle Preparations

"No doubt the Autobots will be here shortly," Bumblebee said as he led the way to Optimus's old private quarters. "When they get here we will need to be ready because I don't believe that we will be shown any mercy this time."

"Vhen vere ve ever shown mercy?"

Bumblebee sighed and said, "What I meant, Blitzwing, was that we're not going to get arrested but off-lined."

"Vhy didn't you say so?" the triple-changer complained.

Bumblebee groaned and opened the door. Inside the room were weapons, extra frame parts, paint, and a whole lot of junk in a jumbled heap, taking up one corner of the room. "Well," Bumblebee said. "I know it isn't a lot but it should be enough to give us a very small advantage."

"I suppose any advantage is better than none," Optimus sighed, wondering just how they were going to beat an army composed entirely of Elite Guard members with four, technically six, Decepticons, a Bumblebee who hallucinated on a regular basis, a big mech that tripped over his own pedes, a ninja bot, a crusty old medic, an Elite school dropout. They were so doomed.

* * *

><p>Barricade sat on the recharge berth in his private quarters, ignoring the sounds of his fellow soldiers as they prepared for battle. In his processor he was mentally picturing the look on Starscream's faceplate when his clones had been off-lined. Moments like that were what Barricade lived for, what gave him the incentive to go on day after day. That was what Barricade's sole purpose in life was; to cause others unimaginable pain and grief. A wicked smile crossed his faceplate as he imagined what it would be like to finally finish that last clone off once and for all.<p>

* * *

><p>Skywarp eyed his Creator nervously, paying the other bots in the room no mind as he focused on the mostly purple flier across the room going through a pile of weapons. Contrary to popular belief he hadn't just inherited his Creator's cowardice but a little bit of his brilliance as well. Oh he had received nowhere near the amount that Slipstream had but he did know enough to be worried. If this really was going to be the final showdown between Bumblebee and Sentinel Magnus then it was also going to be the showdown between his Creator and Barricade. He didn't also have to be a genius in order to figure out that only one of them was going to walk, or, in Starscream's case, fly away. He hoped and prayed that both he and his Creator would at least limp away from this fight still on-line but this bad feeling in the bottom of his tanks that had steadily been growing all day simply wouldn't let up. Rather, it was actually growing worse.<p>

* * *

><p>"What's all this for?" Optimus asked, indicating the pile of junk he, Prowl, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Black Arachnia were standing in.<p>

"You're ticket home," Bumblebee replied mysteriously.

"Beg pardon?" Prowl raised an optic ridge as he stood perfectly still, not wanting any of the dirt and energon-crusted metal to touch his pristine gold-and-black armor.

"Well," Bumblebee's voice became slightly muffled as he bent down and began looking for something amidst the pile of junk. "Black Arachnia and I figured out a way to open the portal. Theoretically it should send you back in time twelve million years."

"You mean to tell me that that pile of junk right there," Ratchet pointed to the floor, "is gonna send us back in time?"

Bumblebee thought for a minute then nodded, saying, "Theoretically."

"How…do I really want to know?" Optimus asked.

"No," Black Arachnia informed him.

"Thought not," Optimus sighed.

"So do we go back to the day we disappeared?" Bulkhead asked.

Bumblebee shook his head then began to explain, "However long you've been here is how long you've been gone in the past. So you've been missing for a day or two now, possibly two. I can't let you stay here too much longer or else…" his voice trailed off.

"Why not?" Optimus wanted to know. "What'll happen?"

"Nothing that I'm willing to discuss," Bumblebee said shortly. "Now help us put this together."

With that the six bots began putting the…whatever it was together.

* * *

><p>Sentinel Magnus was staring out of his window again. Well, technically, it wasn't really his window but his temporary office until his real office, and two floors below it, had been sufficiently repaired so he didn't have to worry about falling through the floor. His office, however, was not his main concern at the moment. He wasn't even worrying about the Neutrals; instead he was thinking about his old friend, Optimus Prime. There had once been a time when he, Optimus, and Elita One had been the best of friends. They had done almost everything together until that day…the day that Elita One died and Black Arachnia had been created. After that everything had changed and then they had run into Black Arachnia. Optimus refused to kill her, convinced that they could find a cure for her but Sentinel disagreed. As far as he was concerned Elita One had been off-lined ago and that nothing of her remained in the Decepticon femme known as Black Arachnia. In fact, Sentinel thought that the only way Elita One could ever be free was if Black Arachnia was completely destroyed.<p>

All thoughts in his processor came to a halt as a sudden white-hot blazing pain shot through his cranial unit, bringing him to his knee-joints. When the pain had passed he rose to his pedes, all thoughts of Elita One and Black Arachnia forgotten as thoughts of bitterness, hatred, and revenge took precedence. An evil smirk crossed his faceplate and he said, "Ready or not, Bumblebee, here I come!"

* * *

><p>Bumblebee was scared but not for himself. As he paced back and forth in his private quarters, he couldn't help but wonder: was he doing the right thing? Was sending Optimus and the others back through the portal really the best thing for everyone? Or was he sending them back because he didn't want to be alone? Because he didn't want to survive another twelve million years without his friends? Did he even care how many innocent lives they could save by doing this? Was it really worth risking everything they had worked for?<p>

He walked over to the recharge berth and bent down, servos eagerly reaching for the innocent looking metal box sitting on the floor. He picked it up and sat down on the berth. After blowing the dust off of it he carefully opened it, his touch even more gentle as he spread the contents on the berth. A couple of datapads, miniature paintings from Bulkhead and his two most prized possessions. One was a holopic with him sitting on Bulkhead's shoulder strut, identical grins on their faceplates. The other was also a holopic but had all five of them, uneasy glances being directed at each other as it had been taken not too long after the initial two weeks of knowing each other.

Looking at the two holopics Bumblebee asked himself if it was still worth taking the risk. The answer was, without a shadow of a doubt, a resounding yes. With that thought in processor Bumblebee placed the items back in the box which he returned to its original resting place then walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

A/N: 5 reviews.

A/N/N: If anyone is wondering why Bumblebee said they couldn't stay any longer than here is your explanation: after they disappeared Bumblebee went to the Decepticons to ask if they had his friends. In exchange for finding out whether or not they were there he made a deal with Lugnut (the same deal he made in chapter 7 of 'Different Beginnings').


	10. The Final Battle

Mixed-Up

Chapter 9: The Final Battle

"Everything's almost ready," Bumblebee said happily, fiddling with another dial.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Optimus asked hesitantly, eyeing the machine warily. Bumblebee and Black Arachnia had taken all of the broken, jagged pieces of metal and turned them into a rather strange looking machine that Bumblebee said would take them home.

"Nope," Bumblebee replied, straightening. "I have no idea if it'll work or not but theoretically it should."

"I'm not sure about this, Prime," Ratchet grumbled.

"It is entirely possible that something could go wrong and we could die," Prowl observed.

"Or we could go home," Bulkhead argued.

Optimus sighed wearily and said to Bumblebee, "We'll do it."

Bumblebee's gray faceplate lit up and eagerly he began flipping switches and pressing buttons. Lights started flashing and the machine emitted several loud beeps. "It's working!" Bumblebee cried in delight. "It's really working!"  
>"I'm not so sure that's a good thing," Optimus said as he began to back up when smoke started pouring from the machine.<p>

"Is it supposed to do that?" Blitzwing asked curiously as he cautiously peered into the room.

"How should we know?" Black Arachnia snapped from her position on the ceiling. "We've never used it before."

"You're just now telling us that?" Optimus yelled as the machine began to smoke even more.

Before Bumblebee could reply Skywarp appeared in the middle of the room. "The Autobots are coming!" he shrieked then disappeared.

"Great," Bumblebee sighed as Skywarp reappeared, this time with Starscream. "I think this is usually the time when your leader, that's me, gives you an inspirational speech about how we're supposed to go out there and defeat the Autobots. But I'm not going to do that. Instead all I can say is; we're all probably going to get off-lined and more than likely the Autobots are going to win."

"I'm glad that he's not trying to depress us," Starscream muttered under his breath causing Skywarp to giggle.

Bumblebee scowled at the two Seekers then continued to speak. "I'm not asking you to die for no reason; I'm asking you to go out there and fight the Autobots like you don't have anything to lose."

"But ve don't," Blitzwing protested.

Bumblebee ignored him. "We don't have to win, just keep Sentinel and his goons occupied long enough for the portal to open and for them," he pointed to the four Autobots standing in the room, "to get home. Any questions?"

"Just one," Prowl said. "Why did all of you think we were Bumblebee's hallucinations even though you could see us?"

Black Arachnia turned crimson as did the rest of the Neutrals then, reluctantly, she said, "There was a slight incident with the high grade a while back and we all had the same hallucinations for years afterwards. Don't ask me how because I honestly don't know."

"Anymore questions?" Bumblebee asked and looked please when there were no more. "In that case," his weapons came online and he held up his energon blade, "Death to the Autobots! Long live the Neutrals!"

Mere minutes later the door was flung open with a loud bang as Sentinel Magnus marched in, followed by the rest of the Autobots. A growl was heard from Starscream as his sworn enemy, Barricade, came in. The black-and-white Autobot smirked when he saw the Seeker move protectively in front of his clone.

Sentinel ignored all the other bots in the room and went straight to Bumblebee. "You destroyed my office and the brig," he growled through gritted denta.

"Oh, what a shame," Bumblebee said innocently.

Sentinel let out a roar and launched himself at the minibot who merely stepped aside, letting the orange-and-blue leader crash headfirst into the wall.

Barricade, meanwhile, had rapidly advance on Starscream who was backing up just as quickly, still keeping Skywarp behind him. All too soon the two fliers hit a wall causing the Autobot to smile as his right servo turned into a cannon. Just as he was about to fire the Neutrals disappeared. Barricade frowned then howled in pain as he was shot from behind. He turned around to see Starscream standing there, Skywarp cautiously peeking out from behind his Creator.

"Ah," Barricade nodded sagely. "Warping. That's all he's good for. You femme clone on the other servo was brilliant not to mention pretty good at other things too if you get my drift," he winked suggestively as he said the last part.

Any brilliant plan Starscream might have had went flying out the proverbial window as he stopped firing and instead tackled Barricade, sending both of them to the floor in a frenzy of limbs. Skywarp watched anxiously as the two bots battled for dominance, neither one willing to surrender.

As Barricade was still able to think rationally the outcome was inevitable; he managed to rise to his pedes, leaving Starscream on the floor. He pointed his cannon at the downed flier but just as he fired Skywarp suddenly appeared in front of Starscream, taking the full force of the blast.

"No!" Starscream yelled in anguish as Skywarp's armor turned gray and the last ounce of color drained from his violet optics, leaving them black. For a minute Starscream simply sat there, holding the lifeless body of his clone. He leaned down and whispered something in Skywarp's audio sensors then gently laid him down. Rising to his full height Starscream pointed his weapons at Barricade and charge them.

"Slag," the Autobot cursed, realizing too late that he had severely miscalculated the Neutral's rage as Starscream fired at him. When the off-lined Autobot finally hit the floor Starscream said nothing but merely kneeled on the floor and gathered Skywarp's frame, holding it close to his chassis.

The rest of the Neutrals were having problems as well. Black Arachnia had lost three of her spider legs to one particularly viscous Autobot who kept trying to pull the rest of them off as well. Blitzwing's left arm was gone, and the right one was literally hanging by a thread, much to his dismay. Fortunately he still had his weapons but not for long if the three Autobots on his back trying to pull his cannons off had anything to say about it.

"Stop that," Blitzwing protested after one particularly painful tug. "I need those."

Black Arachnia suddenly let out a scream that had every bot turning to look at her. Someone had hacked her organic part off leaving a gaping hole where energon was now flowing freely. Completely disregarding the fact that Bumblebee had specifically told them to stay out of the way, Optimus pulled out his axe and headed towards the femme now writhing in agony only to stop when Blitzwing fired. The body jerked once then lay completely still.

"She did not deserve to suffer," Blitzwing said then he too cried out as the Autobots finally succeeded in pulling one of his cannons off. Starscream finally looked up from his position on the floor and suddenly he started beeping. Seconds later he and Skywarp both…exploded, bringing down most of the ceiling and crushing the Autobots along with Blitzwing and himself.

Sentinel watched as his soldiers were all off-lined then pulled out his sword, turning to face Bumblebee. "Let's finish this," he growled.

Bumblebee nodded in agreement and, pulling out his sword, began blocking Sentinel's attacks.

While all this was going on they had completely forgotten all about the machine that Bumblebee had turned on before the fight started. They remembered however when a swirling portal opened up behind Bumblebee and Sentinel Magnus, reminding Optimus of the dream he had had that night in the brig.

The four Autobots watched as the two bots fought, neither one particularly concerned by the fact that they no longer had an army to command.

It appeared that Sentinel had won for his energon blade had gone completely through Bumblebee's chassis. Before the Autobot Supreme Commander could enjoy his victory however the minibot smiled and dug both of his energon blades into Sentinel's spark chamber. Both bots pulled their weapons out of each other then stumbled back, weakly trying to stem the energon flows. Sentinel looked at Bumblebee in disbelief then fell backwards, armor and optics devoid of color.

Bumblebee sank to his knee-joints and smiled weakly at the Autobots who immediately rushed to his side. "I guess we won," he said shakily.

"Hold on, kid," Ratchet muttered, "and I'll patch you up."

The medic reached out to touch Bumblebee's chassis but the minibot shook his head, weakly batting Ratchet's servo away.

"No, Ratchet," he whispered. "I won; I beat Sentinel Magnus. I have nothing more to do here."

"But," the medibot began to protest.

"It's time for you guys to go home."

Optimus locked optics with the minibot who was slowly turning gray and he nodded. "Let's go," he said.

"Take care of me, Optimus," Bumblebee whispered, grabbing the taller bot's servo.

"I will," Optimus assured him then followed the others into the portal, Bumblebee's gray, off-lined body the last thing he saw.

A/N: 10 reviews then I will post the last chapter tomorrow.


	11. Home Again

Mixed-Up

Chapter 10: Home Again

Relief coursed through Optimus's frame when he found himself kneeling on the floor of the living room, no spider webs or energon anywhere.

Ratchet was groaning as Prowl helped him stand, joints creaking ominously even as he told whoever would listen to him that he was never going through a portal again as long as he lived.

Bulkhead looked ready to blow a gasket as he accepted the servo that Optimus offered him. "I don't feel good," he groaned.

The four bots froze when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. They looked at each other with a strange feeling of déjà vu. You can imagine how happy they were to see Bumblebee instead of Black Arachnia walk past the door. A few seconds later Bumblebee reappeared and stared at them, optics wide; hope and disbelief warring each on his faceplate.

"Hey, Bee," Bulkhead waved.

With a cry of, "Bulky!" the yellow minibot raced across the room and threw himself at Bulkhead, sending the big green mech sprawling flat on his back on the floor. Bumblebee kept chanting, "You're alive!" over and over.

"Yeah I'm alive. At least I think I am," Bulkhead groaned. "Oh, Ratchet, I think I slipped a spinal disc or two."

"Sorry about that," Bumblebee apologized as he climbed off of Bulkhead.

"It's okay," Bulkhead said. "If it's all right with you guys I think I'll just stay right here for a couple of years."

"Oh no you won't," Ratchet grunted. "Prowl, Optimus, help him up."

Prowl opened his mouth to object but at a very stern look from Optimus closed it again. "Glad to help," he said instead.

Later that night, after Ratchet had fixed Bulkhead's spinal discs and they had told Bumblebee everything that transpired while they were gone; four bots lay in various positions in recharge in the living room.

Optimus smiled gently at the sight of Bumblebee curled up on Bulkhead's chassis, while Prowl and Ratchet were on opposite ends of the couch. Being careful not to disturb them Optimus quietly walked through the room and went outside. It was quiet, very quiet but that was good. It meant that nothing bad was happening.

Optimus looked up at the night stars and whispered, "Don't worry, Bumblebee. I'll look after you and the others." Then he turned on his massive heel and went back inside while in the night sky a star winked.

Yes! The end! That means I'm now free to begin another story. Okay as of tomorrow the poll is officially being closed so if you want to get your vote in then I would advise you to do so. If you don't have an account however but still want to vote just tell me in your review what story you want done first and I will count that as a vote.

Thanks so much for reviewing this story and I'm sorry that this chapter's so short but I couldn't stretch it out any longer. I do need at least 10 reviews of this story before I can post the next one.

Thanks again for reading and I hope that you continue to do so.

The new story will be posted Saturday.

Sincerely,

Gage39


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